Destination Education
00:47:26 · Ruth Benny, Barbara Lestak
[00:47:26] S0: Okay, I think we did lose a little bit of the sound. We might sort of fill in a bit of gaps. We'll certainly put some stuff in the show notes. Don't worry about it. But I think that the highlights are, yes, the personal statement is changing. It's not really a reform. It's a minor change. It sounds like they've almost made it easier. And I'm sure they're not doing it for our top scoring ambitious students who are applying for Oxbridge and G5. They're doing it for the masses really. Yeah, [00:47:53] S1: yeah, exactly that. And what they're trying to sort of etch out is, you you don't need to treat the personal statement like it's a CV. You're not listing your accomplishments. You know what, they don't expect you to go, and I did the Physics Olympiad and I did the American Physics Bowl and I did this and I got a John Locke. That's not what they want. What they want is, okay, great. Did the Physics Olympiad. What did you learn out of it? What was your experience like? You know, they don't want this and I met so and so, and I read this and I got the autograph from that and I got a letter from... No, no, no, no. And also the other thing that they, that a lot of students sort of fall into that final trap of is, well, I'm the head girl captain and I do this. Fantastic. But what has that got to do with the, you know, you tie it in and you can say, okay, I was the head girl and therefore I, I don't know, I took control of, you know, creating 10 new clubs and one of that club was something law and now I'm applying to law. So tie it in somehow.
00:47:53 · Barbara Lestak, Ruth Benny
[00:47:53] S1: yeah, exactly that. And what they're trying to sort of etch out is, you you don't need to treat the personal statement like it's a CV. You're not listing your accomplishments. You know what, they don't expect you to go, and I did the Physics Olympiad and I did the American Physics Bowl and I did this and I got a John Locke. That's not what they want. What they want is, okay, great. Did the Physics Olympiad. What did you learn out of it? What was your experience like? You know, they don't want this and I met so and so, and I read this and I got the autograph from that and I got a letter from... No, no, no, no. And also the other thing that they, that a lot of students sort of fall into that final trap of is, well, I'm the head girl captain and I do this. Fantastic. But what has that got to do with the, you know, you tie it in and you can say, okay, I was the head girl and therefore I, I don't know, I took control of, you know, creating 10 new clubs and one of that club was something law and now I'm applying to law. So tie it in somehow. [00:48:53] S0: Yeah, it is a really common misperception I think by a lot of students and their parents that accumulating accolades is the thing to do. And unfortunately, I see a lot of families that do that at the expense of other things that they could be enjoying. And just it's not about doing the thing, it's about what did they learn from that? And how is that going to better prepare them for the course that they're applying for, right?
00:48:53 · Ruth Benny, Barbara Lestak
[00:48:53] S0: Yeah, it is a really common misperception I think by a lot of students and their parents that accumulating accolades is the thing to do. And unfortunately, I see a lot of families that do that at the expense of other things that they could be enjoying. And just it's not about doing the thing, it's about what did they learn from that? And how is that going to better prepare them for the course that they're applying for, right? [00:49:22] S1: Exactly, it's exactly that. So you can amass those accolades and by all means, what we don't want students to think is, oh, okay, I shouldn't be doing any sport or I shouldn't join chess club and I shouldn't do any of the things that I love. No, no, please continue because it makes you a rounded person. But just try to tie that in into, there's obviously reasons why you're doing those things. How does that make you that person that is going to succeed and love that subject even more? So what have you learnt out of it? How has that developed maybe even soft skills that will help you in the course that you're going to apply to? Really, really critical. So just start thinking about that and by all means, don't stop in order to read more books and things. It's okay. Enjoy the things that you want to do, but tie it in.
00:49:22 · Barbara Lestak, Ruth Benny
[00:49:22] S1: Exactly, it's exactly that. So you can amass those accolades and by all means, what we don't want students to think is, oh, okay, I shouldn't be doing any sport or I shouldn't join chess club and I shouldn't do any of the things that I love. No, no, please continue because it makes you a rounded person. But just try to tie that in into, there's obviously reasons why you're doing those things. How does that make you that person that is going to succeed and love that subject even more? So what have you learnt out of it? How has that developed maybe even soft skills that will help you in the course that you're going to apply to? Really, really critical. So just start thinking about that and by all means, don't stop in order to read more books and things. It's okay. Enjoy the things that you want to do, but tie it in. [00:50:12] S0: Yeah, I've heard it said that, can't remember who said it, I'll credit the person if I remember, but they're looking for essentially this applies to schools as well, schools, universities, even public employers, what are they looking for They're in a looking for students who are interested in doing the thing and they are interesting. I think, you know, all of these accolades, of these experiences is helping them to make them a well rounded person, be more interesting as a candidate.
00:50:40 · Barbara Lestak
[00:50:40] S1: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So long as you can go into your interview and write in your personal statement that, I did this because not because it was another notch in my academic bedpost, but because I wanted to, I wanted to learn this or I wanted to compete or I had this great idea for a project, for a competition and I wanted to fulfill it and I wanted a team. Trying to just explain exactly that, like why did you do that? And also I think the other important thing that students need to accept, which is really hard for any human to accept is failure is okay. You might go into a competition, you might not get gold or merit or all the different various options, but that's okay. You should still talk about it if it was a key learning point in your journey. You can't win all the time, but that's fine. The universities want to see are you teachable? Are you amenable? Are you moldable? If you are just going to just go straight into, you know, win and I learn everything and I know all of this, as a professor, they're going to look at that student and go, I can't even teach you because you know it, you're on it, like fine. Why do you want to come and learn from me if this is sort of your track? So, you know, allow, think about like what your learning points are in your failures as well. And just know that it's okay. Many of us, not everyone can win gold and have merit and do X, Y, and Z, but you can still learn from that. That's good.
00:52:18 · Ruth Benny, Barbara Lestak
[00:52:18] S0: That's a really good point. And that's obviously very culturally, sometimes that doesn't cross into different cultures, but applying to a UK university, is very much, that's a really good point. We have run out of time, Barbara, we could talk more and more and more. What you don't know about UK university admissions isn't worth knowing. So, we will link to lots more information in the show notes and we'll put the links of where to find you. Because obviously, if people are listening and they would like to have that one to one guidance, and then that's what you do and you do it very, very well. So thank you for your time, Barbara. It was really nice to have you. Shame we weren't together because we met in, we met a few months back, didn't we? But unfortunately we're in different locations today, but. [00:53:10] S1: Yeah, I'm sorry. Couldn't, yeah. It was a shame that we couldn't meet, but I'm glad to have talked and yes, I'm more than happy to sort of dive into all sorts. Yeah, it's a really good conversation to get your teeth into and highly valuable for students. I think especially international students. [00:53:25] S0: 100%. Thank you so much, Barbara. Have a lovely evening. Thank you. [00:53:30] S1: Thank you, Ruth. Take care. [00:53:32] S0: Bye for now. Bye.